


A Delicate Mind

by astra_romaine



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-18 08:20:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21591382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astra_romaine/pseuds/astra_romaine
Summary: One of the Inquisitor's decisions surprises Cassandra and the advisors. As they watch the Herald's behaviour change, they can't help but call into question whether or not he is fit for his position.Something must be wrong with the Inquisitor, he would never make such a rash decision.
Kudos: 5





	A Delicate Mind

When he fell out of the Fade, she doubted him. Against better judgement, Cassandra cut the ropes from his wrist, but he chose to follow her to the Breach and pledged to help in any way.

  
When he was proclaimed the Herald of Andraste, she believed in him. She used her political capital to gather advisors and convince Leliana that reforming the Inquisition was the answer. She took him to the Hinterlands where he brought stability to the area, not to mention adding a few people to the Inquisition’s growing web. They set up camps and dug up old provisions for refugees.

  
When he sided with the mages, she understood. He was a mage himself, and they followed him the same way she did. The fallout was minor; nothing Josephine couldn’t solve, and Cullen certainly didn’t complain about the addition to the army.

  
It was her idea to ask him to lead. The vote was unanimous. He was a symbol now, of Andraste’s will. After staring Corypheus in the face at Haven and trudging through blinding snow for hours to come back, there was no other choice. Cassandra couldn’t have asked for a better leader.

  
When he stood above those weary faces and promised peace and order, she saluted. He projected strength and stability; two things the world was in dire need of, and the people of Haven and the Inquisition could smile for the first time in days.

  
Their numbers grew, as did their victories. Every day brought more recruits, every week new lands recognised them. Their Inner Circle grew larger, yet tighter. A religious order filled with non-believers; the Herald himself being one of them. Despite their differences and divisions, despite the efforts of evil and wickedness, the Inquisition prevailed. Cassandra became accustomed to her voice of dissent, of which the Inquisitor always listened despite his ideas always working better than Cassandra could imagine.

  
Which was why it was such a surprise when he suggested attacking Tevinter.

  
“Inquisitor,” Cullen was the first to respond, “this is not our only course of action.”  
The Herald balled his fists on the table and clenched his jaw.

  
“They are the source of the Venatori and they have refused to help. As far as I’m concerned Tevinter stands in the way of my Inquisition. After the way they have meddled in our affairs and taunted us, I suggest standing up to them in a way they can’t ignore. Josephine, get in touch with their diplomats.”

  
The War Room was uneasy that day. Tension built up like electricity before a lightning strike and the mark flared beneath the Inquisitor’s glove.

  
“Cullen, prepare your troops.”

  
Cassandra leaned on the table and bowed her head.

  
“Inquisitor, I can’t do that.” Cullen was rolling his bottom lip between his teeth and his hand had found permanent refuge on his neck. Nerves. The same could be said for the other advisors, but their tells were more subtle. Cassandra could see the darkness in Leliana’s eyes, hear her thoughts from across the table.

  
“And why not, Commander?”

“We don’t have any good reason-”

  
“No good reason? Did you not read the report? Corypheus himself is Tevene. I won’t wait for another affront”

  
Cassandra could see a burning red colouring the Herald’s neck, slowly migrating to his cheeks and ears. She stepped in,

  
“For one, we have no claims to sovereignty and no official capacity to declare war. Whether or not we even respect ordinary politics, we have barely enough training to keep darkspawn and demons at bay. Not to mention, Tevinter holds a standing army over ten times the size of Inquisition forces.” Cassandra sighed. “Ser, we would be crushed by them and be forced to start all over.”

  
“We have come this far,” Leliana reasoned, “let us not throw it away on a whim.”  
“A whim?” The Inquisitor turned his ire on the spymaster. “You think protecting ourselves from Tevinter’s influence is a whim? Don’t treat me like a child, they already have agents in our ranks.”

  
“You mean Dorian?” Asked Josephine, “Might I remind you, Inquisitor, that you are close friends with that man?”

  
Cassandra spoke again, “Surely you would at least see the folly of launching an invasion of Tevinter if they had spies within our ranks- that is to say if they had spies in our ranks.”

  
“Stop!” The Inquisitor raised both his hands defensively in front of his chest. The room fell silent except for the sound of the wind coming as a draft high above them and the heavy breathing of the man in front of them.

  
“Inquisitor, are you feeling well?” Leliana’s voice carried the same tone as when she spoke to a captured spy, one that lilted and lulled the listener into a false sense of security.

  
“I am fine. In fact, I am feeling quite well indeed, and I still believe we should proceed with our campaign. Cullen, assemble a force.” Cassandra noticed he sounded out of breath, tired even.

  
“No.” Cullen stared the Inquisitor dead in the eyes.

  
“Fine.” Unsteady relief filled the vacuum in the room and sighs were let out. “You’re being removed from your position, effective immediately.”

“Inquis-”

  
“Cassandra, you are the acting commander until I am able to find a suitable replacement. You chose me to lead this Inquisition and I will not be questioned for doing so.” Voices filled the tall chamber and drifted out into Josephine’s office, where several attendants stood in wait for their respective superior to leave with fresh orders.

  
The unrest in the Inner Circle of the Inquisition would project weakness- no, it would be weakness. Even if removing Cullen had been a good decision- which it wasn’t, and Cassandra was sure of it- the transition period from one commander to another would cripple them for weeks- weeks they didn’t have while the real threat continued to ravage Thedas. No, Cassandra couldn’t let this happen. The Inquisitor wasn’t himself and everyone in the War Room knew it except the one person who needed to.

  
“Inquisitor I recommend-”

  
“Herald, see reason.”

  
“The Tevene are not-”

  
Cassandra couldn’t take it.

  
“Inquisitor I will not accept this appointment.” Silence fell again.

  
“No? Cass, I simply wish to strike the Venatori-”

  
“And this is not proportional,” Cullen recited.

  
Josephine sighed, “Inquisitor, are you sure you are feeling well? Perhaps one of the healers should-”

  
He sneered at her, “You think that’s the problem? I am standing up for us, for the Inquisition.”

  
“You bring me into these meetings for my counsel,” Cassandra pivoted the conversation back, “and I am telling you this would be a mistake.”

  
The Inquisitor stood up straight, “Maybe I no longer require your counsel. We will move at dawn in one week’s time.” With that, and no theatrics, he left the war room.

  
The four of them stood still as the candles on the table burned into piles of wax on the edges of the map. Josephine broke the silence.

  
“Is he right? Tevinter has not openly disavowed the Venatori.”

  
Cullen shook his head, “It wouldn’t matter. It would be strategical suicide to split our forces on so many fronts. He knows that. Did something happen?”

  
Leliana shook her head, “I can’t say. I will look around here at Skyhold. Josie, perhaps you should get in contact with his family?”

  
“Right away, but in the meantime? How do we stall this?”

  
Cassandra took a deep breath, “You heard him, we have one week to bring him back to reality or…”

  
Josephine bit her lip, “Or what?”

  
Cassandra couldn’t say it. She had vouched for him, and with good reason, believed in him. What the hell was going on?

  
“Could it have something to do with the Mark?” Cullen looked almost hopeful. What good would that do? Say it was from the Mark: they didn’t know enough about it to determine causation and they sure as hell didn’t know enough to fix it.

  
“I will get Solas to look into it.” Cassandra pushed a metal chamberstick toward the centre of the table. “I, for one, am not ready to throw away our Inquisitor yet. Let him cool off and return tomorrow with a true solution. He has had many sources of stress recently, let us work to alleviate some of them.”

  
With that, the advisors blew out the remaining candles and left the War Room in a burdened silence.

  
Josephine piled her papers on her desk and announced she was retiring, Cullen left to pace his office, and Leliana simply stared at the closed doors before heading towards the spiral staircase in the library. Cassandra listened to the sound of her boots on the stone in the castle. Near the entrance, there were puddles and spots of mud.

  
She pushed into the courtyard where starlight shone off water in the grass and moonflowers opened their delicate white petals to the elegant light. Across from her was the entrance to the tavern, a fiery orange warmth in the cooling night. Haven had been cold, but temperatures in the mountains were unbearable at times.  
On nights like these, most everyone was in the tavern keeping warm with alcohol and merriment. But when she searched, Cassandra found no sign the Inquisitor had so much as stolen a mug or two from the bartender. The Iron Bull was drunkenly wrapped around a figure- surely Dorian- hidden by the staircase while Sera taunted the bard. Varric smiled while telling stories to Blackwall, recruits sat in tight circles around veterans and clapped each other on the back as they tasted the strongest mead available (by request of The Chargers).

  
A night like this was not peaceful, but it was good for morale; which had been lacking in recent days. Cassandra considered that maybe morale was the reason the Inquisitor had requested such a strong move. Should she trust his instincts? The Herald had been right about their course of action thus far and his instincts always led him to useful information. Hell, he had successfully played the Game while climbing trellises all night in the Winter Palace- all while Orlesian speculated and insulted him. Cassandra always had her doubts about his decisions; how could she not? The Inquisitor’s mind was so different from her own… But this situation was different. He had acted rashly when dismissing Cullen, and he had turned down her counsel. The five of them had spent months developing a relationship with each other- a cohesive team spirit that had never failed them.

  
Cassandra headed to the practice dummies near the armoury. A few good whacks with a sword would clear her mind. She pulled her overcoat tighter around her, but it limited her sword arm. The night was too cold without it though, so she awkwardly squeezed the wooden handle of a practice blade before deciding she had enough.  
The battlements had long been a place for thinking. Many times, Cassandra went to gaze upon the mountains and the tents on the ice below and found the Inquisitor there as well. Anytime a hard decision fell on his shoulders he gave it the thought it deserved. Wouldn’t a decision such as this warrant debate? The Inquisitor was not on the battlements tonight. Cassandra couldn’t stand up there without seeing armies marching through the gate in the courtyard in her mind’s eye. She retired for the night but found it hard to sleep.

* * *

Cassandra must have fallen asleep at some point because she overslept and woke up well into the next morning. There was a great commotion below her window as she rolled over to see what had eventually roused her. Outside, the Inquisitor stood part-way up the stairs addressing a crowd. The same spot he stood and preached stability while promising to lead the Inquisition those months ago.

  
“-their aggression with our own,” he was shouting. Cassandra didn’t need to hear more. She flopped back onto her blankets and stared at the wood planks on the ceiling. Just let me pretend for five more minutes. A soft knock came at the door.  
“Lady Seeker? The ambassador wishes to see you in her office.”  
Cassandra closed her eyes, “Right away.”  
She peeled the blankets back off and pulled warmer wear over her small clothes. There was no doubt in her mind this meeting was about the current show in the courtyard. As Cassandra made her way through the quarters and closer to the ambassador’s office, the hallways became dense with scouts and soldiers shuffling among nobles and visiting dignitaries. Back in the courtyard, Cullen himself was in the process of removing the Inquisitor from his soapbox.

  
A scene? Since when did the Inquisitor discuss policy with anyone other than the inner circle? Mostly, their public ops involved kissing babies and showing the Orlesians he wasn’t a savage.

  
One of Josephine’s secretaries let Cassandra in the door.

  
“She’s expecting you.”

  
Leliana was already inside fighting over the optics of the rally outside.

  
“How do we proceed now? Either we attack a nation willing and able to destroy us, or the Inquisitor looks weak.”

  
“Leliana, I realise better than anyone the position he is putting us in-”

  
“Then why didn’t we stop him last night?”

  
Cassandra closed the door loudly behind her.

  
“Bickering will not do us any good.”

  
Leliana sighed and sank onto the couch in front of the unlit fireplace. Josephine leaned against the front of her desk and picked at a fingernail.

  
“What is he thinking? If he would just tell us… How can we implement his policies if we barely know what they are?” There was an uncharacteristic exasperation to Leliana’s voice- like she never expected the Inquisitor himself to be causing her troubles.

Cassandra massaged her hand in thought. Should they try to talk to him again? Well, of course they would try; the question was whether he would answer.

  
There was a ruckus outside. It flung open the door to the office and spilt into the tense scene. Dorian, tailed by several of Josephine’s and one of Leliana’s assistants came storming into the room.

  
“Are you mad? Threatening the Imperium?” He gestured madly, pushing attendants away from him. Josephine waved her staff away,

  
“Let him stay.” They nodded, saluted, and left the room again. “Master Pavus, I must ask that you address us in a calmer manner.”

  
“Calm? You are grandstanding to attack my homeland. Whether or not I care for patriotic reasons, you must understand the Imperium will not hesitate to cut us down.”  
Leliana stood again and faced him, “The matter is undesired among a great many of those around the Inquisitor.”

  
Dorian looked astonished. “Then you are saying he has gone mad? And you’ve lost control of him?” He snorted and flicked his hair out of his face. Cassandra noticed the kohl around his eyes was smudged.

  
“Dorian, you hail from Tevinter, maybe he would listen to your counsel on the matter.” Cassandra could see that her words had no effect on the man. He looked scared.  
“Is it possible this has all been a play? That all he wanted was power?” He asked, his eyes begging Cassandra to say ‘no.’ Dorian snorted again. “He’ll fit right in with the magisters.”

  
The door to Josephine’s office opened again, this time to Cullen and the Inquisitor. Cullen stood in front of the door, blocking any attempted escape on the Inquisitor’s part. The man himself looked angered, but not nearly as volatile as the previous night. Josephine cleared her throat.

  
“You can’t make inflammatory claims like that. What did you have in mind with that statement?”

  
“We’re putting Tevinter on notice. It’s called leading from strength.”  
Cullen faced the Inquisitor, “Did you consider the opinions of any of your counsel? Or perhaps the member of your Inner Circle who is from Tevinter?”

  
The Inquisitor shook his head, then turned to Cullen.

  
“I thought I dismissed you.”

  
“Inquisitor,” Cullen approached him carefully, “you need help.”

  
“Yes, I do. But it is so hard to find loyal help these days. I’m in the process of finding a new commander thanks to that.”

  
Cassandra spoke now, “Afford this decision the thought it deserves. You must consider the repercussions it would have.”

  
Josephine tacked on, “There must be a diplomatic way to handle whatever issue is troubling you.”

  
The Inquisitor took a deep breath. “I am troubled by our weakness; our inability to act. Every day we lose soldiers in the Western Approach to the Venatori and every day we let that happen we lose respect from our allies. This is about what I deem a proportional response to the number of troops we have already lost.”

  
Dorian put his hands on the Herald’s shoulders. “You cannot win against them. And the world cannot win without you. Felis, I think you should take some time. Take Cullen’s offer of help and ease your mind.”

  
“I don’t need help. And maybe you should stick to addressing me as ‘Inquisitor.’” He shook off Dorian’s hands and stalked toward the other side of Josephine’s office. “Why are you questioning me? This is my decision; this is what I think is best.”

  
Josephine sighed. “Inquisitor, help us see your point of view. You must understand how this looks to us.”

  
“How this looks? The Venatori are directly linked to Tevinter, not to mention the barbaric practice of slavery that persists in their country.”

  
Dorian stepped forward now. “I realise I am not a beacon of morality, but Tevinter has always held this practice. Why are we taking a stand now? We have looked past the Imperium altogether until now.”

  
“I think we are all in agreement that this is a bad idea, Inquisitor,” Leliana said, “Why don’t you step down for a few days- maybe rest.”

  
The Inquisitor shook his head and grumbled about not needing help. He set his gaze on the door where Cullen stood.

  
“I will be leaving now.”

  
Josephine stood up straight before Cullen could answer, “Fine. You may leave, Herald.” Cullen met her eyes but stepped aside. Their leader left trailed by two of Leliana’s scouts. Josephine continued speaking to her own staff, “Gather the others. We have a rather serious matter to discuss. Tell them to meet in the unused room of the tower.”

* * *

With all twelve members of the Inquisition’s Inner Circle, the empty room felt cramped and small. They spread out against the walls, some sitting some standing, dire in the face of recent events. Josephine stood at the head of their circle.

  
“I expect everyone has heard about the Inquisitor’s recent antics.” A low murmur ran through the room as she continued.

  
“We all know why we are here. Felis Lavellan is most deserving of our respect and one of the finest leaders I’ve met. He is thoughtful, precise, and courageous. In short, he is a good man and one deserving of his title. Like many in this room, I owe my life to him. But the man who publicly threatened the Imperium and stands by his order of an invasion, despite the losses we would suffer, is not the same man. We are here to determine if the Herald will be removed from his position. In the event of his removal, Cassandra would lead us.”

  
Cullen shook his head and stood up, “We’re acting like he hurt his leg not threatened war with a nation capable of flattening the mountains we reside in.”

  
Cassandra nodded in agreement. “The Inquisitor must step down, at least temporarily.”

  
Sera snorted in response. “Yeah, ‘course you would say it. You’ve something to gain from him steppin’ down ‘n all.”

  
“I agree,” said Varric, “The Inquisitor has been under a lot of stress lately. Let’s not do anything rash in the meantime.”

  
“So, you agree he is acting strangely? If ever there was a time to set aside your politics and do what’s best for the world, this is it.” Cassandra probed.

  
“Yeah, Seeker, I agree. But I’m not willing to completely abandon what we’ve spent months building.”

  
“We aren’t asking for that,” Josephine explained, “Simply a respite period. We must verify the Inquisitor is still capable of making important decisions.”

  
Cassandra sighed. This felt wrong. A decision like this deserved to be made in the bowels of the castle, where the wretched air was hard to breathe and mice scurried under their feet. Here in the high tower room, a draft came in through chinks in the walls and thin beams of sunlight fell in their eyes. It felt like a room where one might hide to escape duties, perhaps she had once found herself here after a particularly rough battle. But the debate circled; always coming back to the choice between fealty and the greater good.

  
“Clearly time is of the essence,” remarked Bull, “So do we keep talking or just vote?”

  
“Can I just say,” Blackwall began, “I don’t believe we’ve reached the threshold for this yet.”

  
Dorian glared at him, “Really? An invasion against a massive adversary to the North doesn’t do it for you?”

  
“Due respect, but perhaps as someone from Tevinter it is indiscreet for you to weigh in on this matter. You do have a remarkable amount of interest invested in the outcome.”  
“My interest is in the safety of the world, and our Inquisitor, but fair enough, let the others decide.”

  
“Who are we to question the Inquisitor’s judgement?” Cole asked.

  
Leliana sighed, “Even if the Imperium is cowed, we will go from crisis to crisis until there is a disaster.”

  
“You don’ think he’s ‘divine blessed’ or whatever anymore?” Sera chided.

  
Leliana narrowed her eyes and began a rebuttal but was interrupted.

  
“Do we even possess the authority to remove the Inquisitor?” Asked Solas.

  
“Authority? I believe we have a moral responsibility to ensure our leader is fully capable of his duties.” Vivienne stood up and addressed the room. “And if there are no new arguments, I believe it best for us to vote now.”

  
Josephine dipped her quill in ink and nodded.

  
“A simple vocal vote will suffice. A ‘yes’ to remove the Inquisitor and ‘no’ for him to remain. All in favour of suspending the Inquisitor.”

  
One, two, three… Would enough agree? Cassandra raised her own voice. Four, five, six…

“It is done.” Cassandra nodded to an Inquisition soldier standing at the door. The Inner Circle trailed almost single file down the narrow wooden stairs to civilisation below. The sombre air was uninterrupted by the usual jesting conversations. Cullen, Leliana, and Josephine stood with Cassandra in the emptying room and took a long, deep breath.

* * *

The Inquisitor walked briskly next to Cassandra as they made their way into the main hall of the castle.

  
“Have you put any thought into my pick for commander?”

  
Cassandra angled her head down slightly, “Roland is a good man...”

  
“Is he? I hadn’t noticed. Takes orders. My number one requirement after Cullen. Speaking of, are you ready to launch an invasion?”

  
They pushed the last door into the War Room but were instead greeted by an empty table and the three advisors standing in front of it.

  
“What’s going on here?” The Inquisitor stopped, still holding the door open into Josephine’s office. The warm orange of the fire was quickly swallowed by the dark blue of the stone room.

  
Leliana folded her hands. “We have something to discuss, Felis.”

  
“What? No. No, where are my battle plans? Where are my generals? My captains? Get them the hell in here!”

  
“There’s not going to be an attack on the Imperium, Ser.” Cullen massaged the back of his neck.

  
“Of course there is! Call them in!” The Inquisitor’s expression grew more volatile every moment.

  
Josephine interrupted, “Ser, they won’t take your order. The Inner Circle voted this afternoon to remove you from your position.”

  
“What?” He grew dangerously calm. “What are you talking about?”

  
Cassandra stepped forward, “I’m sorry, Felis, but you are no longer the Inquisitor.”  
“No. Why the hell would you do this?”

  
“There’s another option, Felis.” He slowly turned to look Cassandra directly in the eye. “Submit to a full examination by a healer and treatment, if appropriate. Once it is determined that you’re better, we can reinstate you fully.”

  
The Inquisitor walked around the table and leaned on the far edge. “I made you,” he muttered, then stood up fully and nodded.

* * *

“It’s a pretty good-sized piece,” the healer commented.

  
The three advisors, Cassandra, and a slew of healers stood in the Inquisitor’s quarters. Felis lay asleep in the bed with a warm towel over his forehead.

  
“We believe it is fully treatable though,” said a young woman examining the Herald’s wrist. “Positioning will make it easier to remove, which we’ll do in the main area downstairs. Out of the courtyard, and in full secrecy in accordance with your wishes. Once the lyrium is removed, he should make a full recovery.”

  
“Shit,” Cullen said.

  
Josephine slumped onto the couch, “We’ll have to give everyone some kind of explanation… I never knew lyrium could grow inside a person like that. I guess it would account for the personality change though, being corrupting and all.”  
“Oh yeah,” another healer said, “It’s really close to the mark too, I wouldn’t be surprised if that had some effect.”

  
Cassandra ran her hand over her hair, “Lyrium sickness manifests for months sometimes before you ever realise something happened. I’ve seen it do much worse than change someone’s personality. But will removing the lyrium reverse all of that?”

  
“Yes. A few potions and poultices should show immediate results even before we take him downstairs.”

  
Cassandra glanced toward the feverish Inquisitor in his slumber.

  
“Thank the Maker.”


End file.
